It was only last week that Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson was telling fellow Tory Andrew Boff AM that whilst he was in charge of a “thrifty regime” he wasn’t going to be able to see his way to “cutting the precept” (the portion of our council tax that goes to the London Assembly).
He certainly managed a raised eyebrow when the Liberal Democrats moved a budget amendment cutting a further £30 million from the Assembly’s spending in order to fund a tax cut of a tenner a year. It was strange watching Lib Dem Assembly Member Mike Tuffrey demand that the Fire Service Museum be kept open whilst simultaneously pressing to fund a meaningless and unnoticeable tax cut.
However, it appears that Mayor Johnson has succumbed to the pressure from his don’t tax, don’t spend colleagues in the Coalition parties and started cutting taxes at a time of unprecedented pressure on public services. His office announced that the annual “council tax precept will fall from £309.82 to £306.72. ” This is on top of a freeze in the council tax precept for all three previous years of Mayor Johnson’s term.
While it is perfectly right to use taxpayers’ money wisely and not take more than is needed the facts of austerity Britain are that all layers of government are being forced into false economies that will cost us more in the long run at the same time as undermining public services. London desperately needs investment not symbolic tax cuts.
Never has it been clearer that London’s mayor is not a fun and cuddly cartoon character but is, in fact, committed to a grey and colourless world where there is no safety net to protect those without wealth and influence. There is a consensus between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives that it is better to cut taxes and public services despite the fact that this policy is dramatically undermining the economy’s ability to recover from the financial crash and is likely to have led us into a double dip recession.
That three pounds and ten pence cut is the exact amount the kindle edition of Talbot and Talbot’s Getting Rid of It: The Step-by-step Guide for Eliminating the Clutter in Your Life
2 Comments
Three new rape crisis centres (after Ken saw them close) , record breaking cuts in crime on transport, an increase in the proportion of family housing built, 1,000 new trees, a vast increase in cycling, increased investment in the tube infrastructure, the regeneration of Silvertown, a revised Olympic legacy plan that’s turned it from Ken’s buy -to-let investment into one that provides homes for families and a Mayor who understands that Londoners need money in their pockets, not into some politicians pet project. That’s grey? The cut in the precept and the savings for Londoners from the three year freeze (after over 150% of increases under his predecessor) shows a direction of travel that Londoners will warm too.
Hi Andrew,
those rape crisis centres in particular stand you in good stead.
Where I agree is that the claims about a Boris Mayoralty at the last election were massively overstated and simply have not come to pass. If anything Boris has tried to play it safe.
The lack of white elephant projjects to point to make this a fairly difficult election for his opponent(s) in my view. So I wouldn’t take grey as a 100% bad thing.
I also agree on direction of travel – althogh where we’ll disagree is whether it’s a good thing or not :)
It seems to me that protecting public services trumps a small tax cut at this time because ouur first priority needs to be jobs and services. In rosier times it might not be so damaging but right now I worry this national policy of austerity is taking us into a douuble dip recession.
I hope I’m wrong obviously.